I was lucky enough to spend some time with Anita Hoffmann in May, discussing the concept ofjob-crafting. I was struck by the differentiation between ‘job change’ and ‘career change’ and how uncomfortable we can find these processes. In a job change, we have some familiarity with the direction and environment, whereas in a career change we do not. As Anita says, we want predictability but with any form of change, this is often not the case.

There is no doubt that job-crafting is an essential skill for career change. At the same time it is also very clear that we must not lose focus of how we are actively managing our current careers in anticipation of an unexpected job change.

In my opinion, the process of finding a new job at the senior level is actually getting more difficult. The natural tendency is to assume that increased visibility with search engines, networking sites, forums etc. will make it will more straightforward. Unfortunately, it is not the case.

It is therefore critical that we are building our networks, relationships and knowledge in an intentional way. This requires a level of clarity regarding the direction that you are looking to travel in and an understanding of the people around you who could play a part in your journey.

I am not suggesting that people need total clarity of their career road map. Things change and we have to be able to adapt. However, without a requisite level of clarity you will not be able to engage effectively and intentionally with the people who can shape and contribute to your growth and ultimately your career.

Getting clear on your own vision and being intentional about how you are working towards this are the integral components to owning your career.

Anita spoke brilliantly about the concept of job-crafting and what is required. The importance of building these skills and networks over time is integral to the success of the job-crafting process. In the same way, if we are not consciously taking some level of ongoing action then we are likely missing opportunities whilst potentially leaving ourselves exposed if we find ourselves in a situation of job change.

By engaging with your own vision and taking intentional action regularly, you can meaningfully impact your relationship with opportunity.

On Wednesday 11th July at 14:00 UK time, Anita will be joining us to discuss her new book – “Purpose and Impact: How Executives are Creating Meaningful Second Careers”. For more information and to join us please follow the link below.

At the heart of the role of a Head Hunter is helping companies to achieve their objectives whilst simultaneously supporting people in making decisions which have a significant impact on their life and, very often, their family’s lives. This process takes place in the face of what can be intense pressure for a company to make a critical hire. Very often the budgets and plans have been committed to, the clock is ticking and these hires are central to achieving these objectives. As a result there are people across the business who are heavily invested and dependent on the success of these processes. This means that the breadth of close interpersonal relationships that are managed in any one executive search campaign can be enormous and must be given the utmost level of respect.

The competition is very high for individuals with high quality leadership skills, specialist market or functional expertise and who possess the appetite and drive required to be successful. When these aspects all collide, not to mention the importance of cultural fit and personal circumstance, there are a number of areas of risk that need to be tackled and unfortunately some can only be resolved when a process has run its course. This causes very real pressure to deliver.

The truth is that you either thrive on the pressure and the complexity of the interpersonal engagements and the problem solving that is required or you don’t. Very few people grow up wanting to be a Head Hunter (other than my kids…), but this profession requires a unique set of skills and personal drivers which can be a relatively rare combination.

Head Hunters are in an incredibly privileged position to be able to support people through life changing decisions and to deliver projects that have a material impact on the companies’ business. The trust that our clients invest in us is very hard earned but is a significant reward in it’s own right. In my experience, the greatest Head Hunters CARE DEEPLY about the impact of their work. They care about the people in the process. They care about their clients’ reputation and their success and they care about ensuring that the process has genuine integrity and delivers a hugely positive outcome for all involved. None of this is simple but it is incredibly rewarding.

The negative reputation that has been caused by poor behaviour’s in our industry over the years is not lost on me. It motivates me every day to change that perception and deliver on the potential of the sector to deliver very real value to the companies and the people who we support.

I wanted to take the opportunity to share a great resource. Of all of the business, performance and psychology books that I have read in recent years, Brendon Burchard’s “High Performance Habits” has really resonated with me.

The most simple way for me to emphasise how good this is, is to say that if I could go back in time and meet my 18 year old self then this is the book that I would share. No surprise it has received such acclaim. So many brilliant books provide theory, concepts and great stories but sometimes they lack the granular detail and roadmap that enables an individual to shape their own “how”. This book provides the platform to begin to do this in an incredibly effective way.

Through my career to date, I feel that I have formed some good habits and understood how to define a vision, to plan, organise, prioritise and execute. However, I have long felt that there are more optimal habits that would enable greater focus and productivity. The focus on clarity of vision and the building of stronger essential habits to be able to deliver on that vision in a productive and sustainable manner is powerful.

Adapting and implementing new habits over the last 6 months has been a great learning journey. It has raised the question for me as to how the formation of these skills can be better integrated through earlier life education? I would love to understand more about the practice of this and any examples where this is really happening. I can see huge value for my own kids to be beginning to engage with these methods through their latter education, before they enter the professional world.

My only question is whether my 18 year old self would have been prepared to listen?!

Thank you Brendon. In my opinion this book is a great gift to anybody who wants to understand themselves better and generate habits that can provide a real edge. It requires a lot of study to get the most out of it but the questioning throughout is brilliant.

I thought that i would take the opportunity to share a video that films the end of a mud run that a bunch of my team did in May this year. It is fair to say, we like to do these things so it is by no means a hardship and i would never describe this as an endurance event. Apart from it being quite funny, I love the humility of everybody to be prepared to make fools of themselves falling flat on their faces, then getting up and doing it again and again until they succeed!